noise, tumult, uproar, racket
[noun]
[het la-waai, <no plural>]
"Lawaai" is just loud and annoying noise. Related adjective is "lawaaig" or lawaaierig": noisy. Related noun is "lawaaimaker": noise-maker, also figuratively: braggart, boaster.
Synonyms of "lawaai" are "herrie" and "kabaal".
Examples:
– "Te veel lawaai hier, ik ben weg, toedeledoki!"
("Too much noise in here, I'm gone, cheerio!")
– "Onze stofzuiger maakt heel veel lawaai, misschien is er iets kapot."
("Our vacuum-cleaner makes a lot of noise, maybe there's something broken.")
– "Onze nieuwe buurman is schorriemorrie, ik word gek van het lawaai dat hij 's nachts maakt."
("Our new neighbour is trash, the noise he makes at night makes me crazy." Lit.: "…I become crazy from the noise he makes at night.")
Expressions:
– "Herrie schoppen": to make noise, to cause trouble.
Example:
– "Gisteravond heeft een kleine groepje hooligans veel herrie geschopt in het autovrije centrum van de stad."
("Yesterday night, a small group of hooligans has caused a lot of trouble in the pedestrian zone of the city centre." Lit.: "…in the carless city centre.")
Related words:
– Herrie: noise, uproar [noun] [de herrie, <no plural>].
– Kabaal: noise, uproar, racket [noun] [het kabaal, <no plural>].
Example:
– "Tien kleine kinderen aan een grote tafel, wat een kabaal!"
("Ten little kids at a big table, what a racket!")
– Geluid: sound [noun] [het geluid, de geluiden].
Nice song on the subject of ‘lawaai’, performed by ‘Kinderen voor Kinderen’.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rx6qbWQydQw
The translation under info is quite literal.